Jonestown Biography

Jonestown is the Triad's Original Weekend Rock band! With a history spanning a full half-decade, Jonestown has made its mark on small venues in Winston-Salem and is eying the bigger spots around town and beyond!

Jonestown was formed in the summer of 1999, as a quartet. The founding members are Joel Ferris (lead guitar/vocals), Greg Tirrell (bass/vocals), Kenny Tsuruta (drums), and Alex McSwain (percussion). Early in 2002, Kenny Ferris (rhythm guitar) and Rick Browder (bass) joined Jonestown. In the fall of 2003, Mark Lowery (rhythm guitar) joined Jonestown, and subsequently left in early 2004. By late 2004, Browder joined Lowery and Derek Hager (bass) took over. In early 2005, Hager departed, allowing some shows with the original bassist (Tirrell). The summer of 2005 saw Mike Boone (bass) step in and Ron "Bookie" Turner to add some percussion and extra vocals. Boone departed in the late summer of '05 and now, Jonestown is again a powerful fivesome, with the addition of Sharon Davis on the bass!

Jonestown has played with The Modenas (surf/rock), Busted Uncle (rock), Upper Level Disturbance (rock/jam), FlyntRidge (pop/rock), Porterhouse (pop/rock), Euphoria (rock/metal), Law of Larger Numbers (rock/punk), Seven Mile Fold (hard rock), Jake Tedder (acoustic), and Rick Browder (acoustic folk/acoustic rock), among others.



Joel Ferris
: Vox, Lead Guitar

Sign: Libra

Last Concert Attended: Matchbox 20


Stuff about Joel
:

Fav Color: "Blood"

Fav Band: "AC/DC"

Fav Song to Play: "If You Want Blood (AC/DC)"

Fav Sport: "Football--with helmets and shit..."

Fav Food: "Meat"

Fav Drink: "Rum"

Lucky Number: "43"

Fav Quote: "Smoke'em if you got'em!"

Fav Move: "Casablanca"

Fav Actor: "Buddy Hackett"

Other Interesting Stuff About Joel:

Last book you read? "Marketing Theory and The Fencing of Stolen Goods"

What CD is in your stereo right now? "Sublime's 40 oz. to Freedom"

The last CD you bought was? "The From Dusk til Dawn soundtrack."

Who do you consider to be a role model and why? "Richard Petty...even though he probably couldn't give a shit about rock'n'roll or anything I would dig. But he won a bunch of races and he had a bunch of wrecks in cars the size of my dad's station wagons."

What do you do to relax? "Sleep."

What are your hobbies? "Driving cars and smoking, oh and uh, music."

If you could be a member of any band, current or past, which one would it be? And finally, most importantly, boxers or briefs? "Boxers."

Any other comments you'd like to include? "I like big cars and Tennessee Ernie Ford is my great, great uncle."

 



Kenny Ferris
: Vox, Guitar

Sign: Leo

Last Concert Attended: Kiss' Farewell Tour


Stuff about Kenny
:

Fav Color: "Green"

Fav Band: "Kiss...but listening to a lot of Green Day (older) and Foo Fighters!"

Fav Song to Play: "Back Against the Wall (Drivin'n'Cryin')"

Fav Sport: "To play, it's baseball...to watch, it's ACC basketball--Go 'Heels!!!"

Fav Food: "Texas Pete"

Fav Drink: "Grey Goose Martini, dirty as a MoFo! In beer, it's Newcastle or Miller Lite!"

Lucky Number: "14"

Fav Quote: "Have you ever had a sexual experience so intense it could conceivably change your political views?" John Cusack as Gibb in The Sure Thing

Fav Move: "Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail"

Fav Actor: "Actor, Will Ferrell...Actress, Jennifer Love Hewitt (and her twins)"

Other Interesting Stuff About Kenny:

Last book you read? "Elmore Leonard's Freaky Deaky"

What CD is in your stereo right now? "Cravin' Melon's The Great Procrastinator"

The last CD you bought was? "The Marvelous 3's Hey!."

Who do you consider to be a role model and why? "I consider Hugh Hefner as a role model because he started a company from the ground up, made himself millions, and surrounds himself with a T&A buffet from wake-up 'til lights out!"

What do you do to relax? "I generally put on the headphones and visit some faraway place with Jimmy Buffett, ooze into some sort of cosmic trance with Joe Satriani, or just veg with Norah Jones. If I want to get the blood flowing, though, it's Kiss, Motley Crue, The Cult or The Black Crowes."

What are your hobbies? "Golf, writing, drawing, etc."

If you could be a member of any band, current or past, which one would it be? <"I'd have been the 5th original member of Kiss. The line-up would have been: Paul (Starchild) Stanley, Gene (Demon) Simmons, Ace (Spaceman) Frehley, Peter (Catman) Criss, and Kenny (Burl-Ives-looking-Snowman) Ferris. You wanted the best...and you've got the best...the hottest band in the world...KISS!!!"

And finally, most importantly, boxers or briefs? "That's a trick question. It's boxer-briefs...yep, yep, yep."

Any other comments you'd like to include? "I'm pretty big in Thailand."

 



Kenny Tsuruta
: Drums

Sign: Low Shoulder

Last Concert Attended: Jonestown at Triangle Billiards


Stuff about Kenny
:

Fav Color: "Orange"

Fav Band: "Metallica!"

Fav Song to Play: "Panama/Hot for Teacher by Van Halen"

Fav Sport: "Football"

Fav Food: "Ethnic"

Fav Drink: "Liquor, whiskey, gin"

Lucky Number: "44"

Fav Quote: "Danny...mmmhuhh??? Judge Smails in Caddyshack"

Fav Move: "Donnie Brasco"

Fav Actor: "Robert DeNiro."

Other Interesting Stuff About Kenny:

Last book you read? "Hell's Angels/Hunter S. Thompson"

What CD is in your stereo right now? "Metallica's Master of Puppets"

The last CD you bought was? "L7."

Who do you consider to be a role model and why? "None."

What do you do to relax? "Right now, other than hanging out...the band is my relaxation."

What are your hobbies? "Art, music, entertainment."

If you could be a member of any band, current or past, which one would it be? <"Duran Duran, Metallica, AC/DC."

And finally, most importantly, boxers or briefs? "Boxers."

Any other comments you'd like to include? "I'm pretty big in Thailand."

 



Ron "Bookie" Turner
: Percussion

Sign: Virgo

Last Concert Attended: Jimmy Buffett


Stuff about Bookie
:

Fav Color: "Black and Crimson"

Fav Band: "The Cult"

Fav Song to Play: "Cheap Trick's Surrender"

Fav Sport: "Football (Redskins)"

Fav Food: "Steak...or any dead animal that's seasoned well."

Fav Drink: "Gluhwein (a German specialty drink)."

Lucky Number: "7"

Fav Quote: "Give me some sugar, baby??? Ash, Army of Darkness"

Fav Move: "Braveheart"

Fav Actor: "Bruce Campbell, Charlize Theron or Anthony Hopkins/Kiran Knightley."

Other Interesting Stuff About Bookie:

Last book you read? "The Great and Secret Show by Clive Barker or something by H.P. Lovecraft. It's been a while."

What CD is in your stereo right now? "Jonestown practice CD."

The last CD you bought was? "Metallica's Master of Puppets. The last new release was Evanescence (I love the dark chick)."

Who do you consider to be a role model and why? "William Wallace. If I had to pick one it would be him. I stumbled across his name in an encyclopedia and read on. Initially I was impressed that the British just could not catch him but as I read on I understood what he was all about. Freedom!"

What do you do to relax? "I don't relax until I sleep."

What are your hobbies? "Delving into the dark corners of my mind...attempting to write it down."

If you could be a member of any band, current or past, which one would it be? "Kiss."

And finally, most importantly, boxers or briefs? "Whatever's been worn the least amount of days. Just kidding!"

Any other comments you'd like to include? "A favorite quote from another Jonestown member (Joel Ferris): Yeah man, I'll shoot somebody. I'll shoot a little kid if he has a gun. I'll shoot an old lady."

 


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Sharon Davis
: Bass, Vox, Guitar

Sign: Aquarius

Last Concert Attended: Neil Diamond


Stuff about Sharon
:

Fav Color: "Blue"

Fav Band: "Warren Zevon"

Fav Song to Play: "Surrender (Cheap Trick)"

Fav Sport: "Volleyball and Softball"

Fav Food: "Thai/Vietnamese"

Fav Drink: "Buttery Nipple"

Lucky Number: "4"

Fav Quote: "If you can't beat them, arrange to have them beaten!" George Carlin

Fav Move: "The Professional"

Fav Actor: "Gary Oldman"

Other Interesting Stuff About Sharon:

Last book you read? "Rotten: Autobiography of Johnny Rotten"

What CD is in your stereo right now? "Neil Diamond's 12 Songs"

The last CD you bought was? "Insane Clown Posse's Bizzar."

Who do you consider to be a role model and why? "Ray Davies, for one.  In my formative years, his nonconformist attitude along with his sense of humor was the perfect combination. He's a fantastic storyteller who is cynical but still believes in the happy ending with a twist."

What do you do to relax? "Jigsaw puzzles, ride bikes, watch movies."

What are your hobbies? "Computers, baking, collecting stamps and Neil Diamond records, birds."

If you could be a member of any band, current or past, which one would it be? <"The Kinks"

And finally, most importantly, boxers or briefs? "At home, boxers! :-)"

Any other comments you'd like to include? "I am a porn aficionado."

 



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